I'm doing a one-week group trekking trip with Exodus in Tuscany starting October 14th. I'm trying to decide whether to just fly into Rome and take the train to Florence to spend a few days before meeting up with the group tour -- or flying into Venice and spending a few days there. I'm wondering if Venice may be too cool and rainy with possible flooding risk in October. Thoughts?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15268 posts
Florence would make more sense logistically, since you are going to Tuscany and Florence is in Tuscany.
In terms of weather early October is generally still warm and temperatures between Florence and Venice would not differ much at all. Rain is always a possibility, but there is no way to predict. Generally it rains significantly in both places toward the end of the month. The last huge floods occurred on November 4, 1966 (simultaneously in both cities). Venice routinely experiences a phenomenon called Acqua Alta (High Water), which however is driven by several events occurring simultaneously (high tide, significant precipitation affecting the rivers flowing into the lagoon, strong scirocco winds)
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
831 posts
Venice and Florence are both great cities and the fast train times to Florence are pretty similar so the logistics are about the same. So to me it comes down to what experience are you interested in having before your trip?
Florence has tons of art, history and architecture and is a preview of the Tuscany you're presumably about to go see more of.
Venice is a place unlike anywhere else but has fewer "must see" sights or artworks so wandering the town and exploring the "elegant decay" is probably the main activity there after you've seen St Marks.
I'm a huge fan of both places but if you don't feel the need to see David, walk the Uffizi, etc I think Venice is the more different of the two and a more unique experience as a city.
I was in Venice at the end of September last year and the weather was great. There were some clouds during the day and it rained briefly one night but nothing that interfered with any plans.
Have a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
Rural Georgia
2123 posts
The last huge floods occurred on November 4, 1966 (simultaneously in both cities).
Roberto and Todd made excellent points. The only thing I can think of is the exceptional weather in Europe this summer. It makes it hard to predict if one is more susceptible to rain than the other. From a temperature standpoint, it should be plenty warm in Venice.
The sentence I quoted from Roberto's post reminded me of being in both Venice and Florence in August, 1966. I was on a high school trip to Europe, along with my future wife. We were devastated to hear the news of the November 4 floods, especially to hear panels on the Gates of Paradise in Florence had been dislodged. Thankfully they weren't lost.
I think it's a tossup. I could make strong arguments for either. You might want to check the cruise ship itineraries for Venice. We've been in places overrun with cruise ship day trippers and it was not pleasant.
I checked the Exodus walking tours of Tuscany and it sounds wonderful! Have a great trip!
Posted by
OP
33 posts
Thanks all for responding so quickly. I love this site! Decided to fly in/out of Rome and spend a few days in Florence before the group trip. Then a few days in Rome at the end. I was in Venice briefly in 2018 to join a bike/barge trip and it's been ages since I've seen Florence or Rome. Will visit Venice again in the future hopefully in conjunction with the Dolomites!